Even though the rest of the country has slowly started to adopt soccer in a big way, building out new soccer stadiums, soccer fields, and supporting grassroot soccer leagues, Sacramento has almost always been a big proponent of this global game.

Sacramento was home to some of the biggest soccer tournaments throughout the early 1900s all the way up to today, and continue to support the sport more than almost any other city in the country. This shouldn’t come as a surprise to many, as soccer has always been an international game and Sacramento is arguably one of the most international and diverse of all of the major US cities.

Those looking to get started in the local soccer community, as well as those that are interested in helping to throw this soccer community nationally are going to have a lot of opportunities to do exactly that in Sacramento.

The soccer scene has never been brighter in Sacramento and it currently is – and it’s only going to get even brighter as time goes on!

Soccer has always been huge in Sacramento

As mentioned above, soccer has always been really, really big in Sacramento, and it’s only grown since its earliest days.

Many of the biggest tournaments in the country originate in Sacramento, and some of the oldest soccer teams, soccer clubs, and soccer fields exist in Sacramento and throughout the Northern California region. Legendary players have come from all over this community, with more than 20 playing professionally in the MLS (or have played professionally in the MLS) and 20 more playing in Europe at the highest levels professionally.

There are still a variety of different major soccer tournaments held in Sacramento each and every year, and the US National men’s and women’s teams routinely make visits here to play in front of thousands and thousands of people.

The current health of the soccer scene in Sacramento is as solid as can be

The current soccer community in Sacramento is as solid and as robust as could be, and there are plans to build this community out even more just as quickly as humanly possible.

There are a number of semi-professional soccer clubs that currently exist in Sacramento or the Sacramento area (including the Sacramento Republic FC and the Sacramento Knights), and there are some pretty significant bids currently in the works to help get an MLS team in Sacramento.

The Sacramento Knights were able to routinely bring in crowds between 6000 and 7000 people per game for years and years, far outpacing the overwhelming majority of other semiprofessional soccer teams around the country.

This is only going to help the city of Sacramento and the community with their bid to attract an MLS team, though they are going to have to wait until the decision is made on the new Miami club.

Of course, professional soccer isn’t the only focus for those in the area.

There are year-round soccer training camps, soccer clinics, and all kinds of soccer fields for children, students, and adults that are looking to engage in this great game. We touched on it a little bit above, but Time magazine mentioned Sacramento as the most diverse city in the United States, and it continues to attract an international crowd.

These people bring with them a love of the game, and they are helping to expand that love of the game rapidly throughout Sacramento County and the rest of Northern California.

Sacramento is quickly establishing itself as THE place to train for soccer

The major reason that the US continues to kind of struggle on the international scene (outside of the dominant US women’s team, of course) is because there are so few international level training facilities dedicated to soccer in quite the same way that those in Europe and Asia are able to take advantage of.

Sacramento is looking to change that.

Along with the HNTB renderings designed to show the MLS what the new Sacramento Stadium will look like, there are also a considerable amount of proposals for major international soccer training facilities like the ones you’ll find in Europe. These “soccer academies” are half boarding school, half soccer training facility and should have no trouble producing the kind of top-tier superstars that the rest of the world has been producing and training for years and years now.

Sure, the Sacramento Kings get a lot of the attention nationally (but a lot of that has to do with the fact that the NBA is, at least currently, a much bigger draw professionally), but to anyone that has lived in Sacramento for any amount of time knows that the soccer community is as robust as any other sports community in the area.

Known as the most diverse city in the United States since 2002 (according to Time magazine), it should come as no real surprise to many that Sacramento is quite as big a soccer community as it is.

Soccer is hands-down the biggest sport worldwide (gigantic everywhere but the United States, it seems), and when people come to Sacramento they bring their love of this game with them.

If you’d like to know little bit more about the history of soccer in Sacramento, as well as where the future of soccer in Sacramento is headed, you’re going to want to check out this quick guide.

The roots of soccer in Sacramento run quite deep

Soccer didn’t really grab hold in the United States until the early 20th century, but the soccer community was thriving throughout Northern California (and in Sacramento in particular) a lot earlier than that.

In the middle parts of the 19th century the California Football League, the Western League, and a handful of other semiprofessional leagues sprung up, which led to the creation of the California State Football Association in 1902.

We mean football in the European sense of the word, and not the American football game that dominates US culture today, of course!

After the creation of the CSFA in 1902 the John O Belis Perpetual Trophy was established, and talent from all over the nation flooded into Sacramento for a chance to win this coveted tournament.

Otto Massara was also a tremendously influential figure in the Sacramento soccer community, moving from Italy to San Francisco before making his way to Sacramento, establishing leagues and creating soccer clubs along the way.

He eventually became the president of the CSFA (later renamed the California Soccer League), and after he passed away his ashes were spread all over only a field – home to some of the biggest tournaments in the area.

Soccer’s big buildout in Sacramento happened in the early 90s

The growth of soccer in Sacramento was tremendously organic through the 20th century, but in the early 90s things started to explode.

A number of professional indoor soccer and semiprofessional outdoor soccer teams started to build up major fan bases in Sacramento, with the Sacramento Knights playing at ARCO Arena for years and years. They were able to draw anywhere between 6500 and 7200 fans a night while they played, one of the highest average attendances for soccer in the nation.

During the 2010 World Cup, the average viewership rates of soccer were higher in Sacramento, and this city consistently had a top 10 listing as far as television ratings were concerned throughout the 2010 FIFA World Cup. We’re talking about worldwide ratings here, not just in the United States!

The future of soccer in Sacramento is also incredibly bright.

The woman’s national team as well as the men’s national team have all played matches in Sacramento, and more than 20 players from the Sacramento area have already played or are currently playing in the MLS. 13 players from the area have contributed to the US at the national level, and 24 players have either played or are currently playing in Europe at the highest levels of professional play.

There are a considerable amount of soccer training facilities in Sacramento, and there are more being built. The indoor game is almost as popular as the outdoor game, and even though Northern California isn’t exactly the least friendly climate to train in (pretty gorgeous all year round), the indoor game continues to build up a lot of steam as time goes on.

All in all, the future of soccer in Sacramento certainly isn’t in any jeopardy. The game continues to get more and more popular on a national level (especially after the women won the World Cup for the US this past tournament), and Sacramento is doing absolutely everything it can to grow the popularity of the sport as well!